Chapter 239 Facing
Seeing this, Xiao Qiao was very self-aware. Seeing that Zhong Min and Xier looked very excited to see each other, she knew that the two must have a lot to say, so she quickly left quietly, leaving the house to the two who had finally met again.
"Xier, are you okay? They didn't make things difficult for you, did they?" Seeing Xiao Qiao go out and even carefully close the door, Zhong Min pulled Xier to sit down together, looking her up and down and asking questions, fearing that Xier had been treated inhumanely.
But he seemed fine, with nothing wrong with him. He also looked like he'd showered and changed into clean clothes, looking much fresher. Without waiting for Xier's reply, Zhong Min felt a little relieved. However, Ning Zhiyuan probably wouldn't let his subordinates mistreat and embarrass such an unrelated person.
As expected, upon hearing Zhong Min's question, Xi'er shook her head repeatedly, then held Zhong Min's hand tightly and said, "I'm fine, nothing's wrong at all. They didn't give me any trouble, and they even provided me with good food and drink. They didn't treat me badly at all. But you, Min'er, are you okay? Prime Minister Ning didn't do anything to you, did he?"
"No, I'm right in front of you, aren't I?" Zhong Min said as she looked at Xier and smiled. Suddenly, the smile on her face disappeared, and her eyes turned to Xier with confusion: "Xier, how do you know that the person who arrested us is Ning Zhiyuan?"
"Ah..." Xi'er's face suddenly turned ugly when she heard it, and her voice suddenly got stuck in her throat. After a moment, she smiled uncomfortably and said, "I, I heard it from the person who sent me here. Also, when I just got here, I thought I saw Prime Minister Ning, so I was anxious and just said what I guessed."
Xi'er's explanation made sense, but Zhong Min still had some doubts in her heart. To be honest, she didn't want to doubt anything, but now that she thought about it carefully, the process of her capture was indeed a bit strange. If it weren't for the help of an insider, there was no way that Ah San and others could have successfully sent her from Muzhou to this hellish place without anyone noticing.
She had no idea where this place was exactly. She only knew it was called Ghost Manor, but what good was that? She didn't even know the specific name of the place. However, she guessed that this place was definitely not in the capital, and it should not be too far away. Otherwise, Ning Zhiyuan would not have been able to get here so quickly.
"Xier, are you hiding something from me?" Zhong Min thought about it and felt that she should have a good talk with Xier. Now that there were only her and Xier here, there was nothing she couldn't say.
"No, no! What could I possibly be hiding from you?" Xier became even more nervous upon hearing this, and her speech became slurred.
"By the way, the person who brought me here said that he would let me stay by your side and serve you in the future. I think Prime Minister Ning was worried that you wouldn't be able to adapt here as you are unfamiliar with the place, so he agreed to let me come and accompany you." Xier deliberately changed the topic that Zhong Min had mentioned earlier. It seemed that she didn't want to continue, nor did she want Zhong Min to ask any more questions.
But the more this went on, the more Zhong Min grew suspicious. From the moment Xier walked in, she'd felt something was off about her, and after she'd questioned her, her behavior had become even more unbearable. She didn't want to think anything of Xier, but at that moment, she couldn't help but wonder. Especially after Ning Zhiyuan's words as he left, about how it was the right decision to bring Xier along, she felt an indescribable sense of complexity.
"Xi'er, there's no one else here except the two of us. I want to have a good talk with you." Zhong Min made up his mind and said without hesitation, "Xi'er, don't you think the process of us being captured and brought here by San and the others is a bit too unusual? Don't you think this is more like a premeditated plot? In this plot, was there someone, someone close to us, who played the most crucial role? If it weren't for that person, San and the others would never have been able to capture us so easily and send us here! Xi'er, all of this really puzzles me. What are your thoughts?"
After asking, Zhong Min stared into Xier's eyes without saying a word. After hearing these words, Xier's expression suddenly became flustered. She hesitated for a long time, not knowing what to do. She couldn't say a word, and she didn't even have the courage to look Zhong Min in the eye.
Zhong Min's heart sank again, and an indescribable disappointment spread throughout her. However, she still controlled her emotions. Before everything was fully confirmed, before Xier herself admitted it, she still held on to a glimmer of hope, hoping that everything was just a misunderstanding, just a misjudgment on her part.
"I don't know, I really don't know, Min'er! Can you please stop asking me these questions?" Xi'er looked at Zhong Min after a long moment, her expression very embarrassed. "Min'er, you know I'm very stupid. How can I think clearly about these things?"
"Really? Since you can't figure it out, how about I help you think about it?" Zhong Min sighed, and reluctantly ignored Xier's request, continuing, "Xier, I hadn't originally planned to leave the house that day. It was you who suggested going out for a walk, right?"
"Min'er, what do you mean by this? Do you suspect that I betrayed you and deliberately colluded with Ah San and the others to harm you in the future?" Xi'er seemed a little angry. She shook off Zhong Min's hand and said, "I thought you really regarded me as a friend, but I didn't expect you to think of me like this behind my back. When something happened, the first person you thought of was me, and you blamed me for all the bad things!"
Xier seemed very excited, and it was unclear whether she was really sad or panicked, which led to such a strong reaction.
Seeing this, Zhong Min had no choice but to continue, "Don't be so upset just yet. Just listen to me. Normally, Chu'er and Xiang'er would always follow me whenever I went out, but it just so happened that day that Chu'er was sent to help the housekeeper and couldn't be away for the moment. And Xiang'er, who usually has good health, didn't feel well at that moment."
"Of course, if all this were truly just a coincidence, it would still make sense. But what happened after we left the house is unbelievable." Zhong Min continued, looking at Xi'er's increasingly pale face, "It was you who suggested going into that teahouse. There were originally several nearby, and without your guidance, we might not have gone into that particular one. And after we got in, the waiter was inexplicably careless and spilled tea and lotus seed soup on me. So, naturally, I had a legitimate reason to go into the house in the backyard of the teahouse to change clothes."
"Little Five and Little Six wanted to follow me to the backyard, but you came forward again and said it was inconvenient for them to go in with you, and that it was enough for them to just follow me. Firstly, Little Five and Little Six naturally wouldn't doubt your words, and secondly, they didn't expect anything unexpected to happen in Muzhou, on their own territory, in such a short time."
"So, in the end, the two of us entered the room that had been designed in advance. Just as we were about to pack up, we suddenly smelled a strange incense. Although I didn't see what happened next, I can guess that Ah San and the others came in through the window and quietly took you and me away, right?" Zhong Min stared at Xier. "Without your help, I think Ah San and the others would never have been able to do any of this easily! But Xier, I really don't know why you would help them harm me."
Zhong Min's last sentence was affirmative but disappointed. Even if Xier didn't admit it, she was completely sure of it in her heart, because Xier was the only one who could lead them into the trap prepared in advance without attracting anyone's attention. Without Xier's seemingly unintentional but actually carefully designed plans, San and the others would have no chance of doing anything to her.
But she really couldn't imagine what kind of reason could make Xier do this. She had always regarded Xier as her best friend and had never owed her anything. In addition to feeling uncomfortable, an indescribable disappointment made her extremely angry. Faced with the betrayal of the person she trusted the most, how many people could remain indifferent?
She stared at Xi'er quietly, waiting for her to admit it herself, waiting for her to explain it all, because she really couldn't imagine why Xi'er would do this. For Ning Zhiyuan, she even ignored her friend, was it really like this?
After hearing what Zhong Min said, Xier was unexpectedly no longer as excited as before. Instead, she fell silent and said nothing. Her face became even paler, and she felt as if the air had been sucked out of her body, as if she was about to collapse at any time.
Zhong Min felt a little reluctant, but before Xier admitted the truth, he did not make any move. He just looked at her quietly and waited for her.
After a long while, Xier finally raised her head. Her pale face looked particularly terrifying. She opened her lips and finally spoke, "I knew this day would come... but, I never expected it to come so soon, or so unexpectedly that I can't face it."
Although Xier didn't admit it directly, this sentence was equivalent to acquiescing to all the accusations Zhong Min had made against her. Hearing this, Zhong Min felt even more upset.
She took a deep breath and whispered, "Why?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
